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Category | Drama | Theatrical Trailer(s) | Yes, 1 - 1.85:1 (16x9), Dolby Digital 2.0 , 320Kb/s) |
Rating | Other Trailer(s) | Yes, 1 - Dolby Digital Rain | |
Year Released | 1999 | Commentary Tracks | Yes, 1 - Norman Jewison (Director) |
Running Time | 139:33 Minutes | Other Extras | Main Menu Audio & Animation
Scene Selection Audio & Animation Deleted Scenes with Director's Introductions (1.78:1, 16x9, Dolby Digital 2.0, 320Kb/s) Featurette - Spotlight On Location (1.78:1, 16x9, Dolby Digital 2.0, 320Kb/s) Production Notes: A Chronology: The Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Case Cast & Crew Biographies |
RSDL/Flipper | RSDL (80:08) |
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Start Up | Menu | ||
Region | 4 | Director | Norman Jewison |
Studio
Distributor |
Beacon Pictures
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring | Denzel Washington
John Hannah Deborah Kara Unger |
Case | Transparent Amaray | ||
RPI | $34.95 | Music | Christopher Young |
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Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | MPEG | None |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.81:1 (Measured) | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
16x9 Enhancement |
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Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s)
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 256 Kb/s) English Audio Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 256 Kb/s) |
Theatrical Aspect Ratio | ?1.85:1 |
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Macrovision | Yes | Smoking | Yes |
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Annoying Product Placement | No |
Action In or After Credits | No |
The Hurricane is based upon the life story of Rubin Carter (Denzel Washington), who spent two decades of his life in prison for a crime that he maintains he didn't commit. His actual guilt or innocence is secondary to the fact that he was unjustly convicted, as this film shows in great detail. The problem is that I found it strangely difficult to connect with the characters, with almost all of the performances falling flat. Perhaps others will find this film more compelling, but I find myself hard-pressed to recommend that it be afforded a permanent place in anyone's collection.
The transfer is exceptionally sharp and clear at all times, at least within the intentions of the director, who obviously didn't want the scenes in the prison or similar environments to be particularly bright or happy looking. The shadow detail is very good, but there are also some limits placed upon it by what appear to be the intentions of the director. However, everything that the director intended for the viewer to see is readily apparent in the final picture. There was no low-level noise apparent in the shadows, which makes me pity those who attempt to view this film on VHS.
The colour saturation can be described as vibrant, even in the drab environment of the prison. The negatives were obviously made to squeeze every ounce of colour out of the shots, and the transfer is very reflective of this. This is in spite of the authenticity of the props, most of which are from eras where bad colour co-ordination and dull saturation was something of a fashion statement. The boxing matches in this film, which are very brief and exist only for plot movement, are in monochrome. These are well saturated, with everything being easy to make out in spite of the obvious limitations that monochrome photography and processing present.
MPEG artefacts were not seen in this transfer, in spite of the fact that the disc appears to have been rather tightly compressed, with the transfer rate constantly hovering around five megabits a second. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some mild aliasing in blinds and prison bars, but this artefact was well controlled in spite of how noticeable it seemed to be when present. Film artefacts consisted of some small flecks on the negative, with some hairs and lines in historical footage of the protests against Carter's imprisonment, but these were very minor and very occasional. This would be a reference quality transfer if not for the occasional problem with aliasing, which is something of a pity, but only the fussiest of viewers will have any complaints.
This disc is presented in the RSDL format, with the layer change taking place at 80:08. The layer change is noticeable, but it is only a mild interruption to the flow of the film.
The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times, although there are times when a little effort is required to make out exactly what is being said. This is a fault of the way the actors spoke, which was in character, more than the transfer. There were no apparent problems with audio sync.
The score music in this film is credited to Christopher Young, with one G. Marq Roswell being credited as the "music supervisor". Some contemporary music appears, most notably from Bob Dylan, but this enhances the film rather than detracts from it, as is usually the case when films resort to the use of contemporary music. The score music helps to create an appropriate feel to the darker moments of the film, but is otherwise silent, or so far from being noticeable as to make no difference.
The surround presence in this film can be described as subtle, but it easily rivals the biggest action films as far as immersion is concerned. The surround channels are used to support the music and all sorts of ambient sound effects, and they do so without ever collapsing into the monophonic dialogue sequences that are so common to films about boxers. Considering that ninety-five percent of the film consists of dialogue, this represents excellent use of the surround channels, with a flashback to Carter leaving the bar at 97:34 providing an excellent example of ambient sound drawing the viewer into the film. This is clearly a film that is meant to be experienced with a wide soundstage, and the transfer is impeccable in this regard.
The subwoofer was used intermittently to support the music and the few minutes of action sequences that exist in the film. Although the subwoofer was not used often, it was used effectively without calling attention to itself, which is commendable in light of the way that the film uses lower frequencies.
The video quality is excellent.
The audio quality is excellent.
The extras have the right balance between quality and quantity.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
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DVD | Grundig GDV 100 D, using composite output; Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output |
Display | Panasonic TC-29R20 (68 cm), 4:3 mode, using composite input; Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm), 16:9 mode/4:3 mode, using composite and S-video inputs |
Audio Decoder | Built In (Amplifier) |
Amplification | Sony STR-DE835 |
Speakers | Panasonic S-J1500D Front Speakers, Philips PH931SSS Rear Speakers, Philips FB206WC Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Subwoofer |